First Year Follies
by Birdz555
Summary: Atem has just moved into his residence room at Domino University, the whole year ahead of him. New friends and a new lifestyle lead to some pretty weird places. Rated T for the inevitable profanity, innuendos and drunken university antics.
1. In Which Atem Reads a Mind

**Hello! This is my very first fanfic! *dances* I'm not quite sure where this is going to go, but hopefully it will end up some place that both you and I can live with. Knowing myself, there will be romance somewhere. It's what I do :)**

**But you don't want to listen to me, you want fanfiction! Read on, but don't forget to tell me what you think at the end. Thanks! ^^**

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Chapter One – In Which Atem Reads a Mind

Atem finished lugging the last piece of his luggage up the five flights of stairs that led to his dorm room. The fifth floor of the South Southwest residence at Domino University was second only to the sixth floor in height. As he sat out of breath on his rather high bed, Atem pitied the students who had to carry all of their belongings up an additional level. Then again, most of them had parents helping them. A strong Father to lift the mini fridge; a loving Mother to remind you that they'll be there for you if something happens. He sighed.

Atem knew little about his father and even less about his mother, both having passed on years before. He had lived with his Aunt Lily since he could remember, and she was the one who had driven him here today. Unfortunately, her bad back had prevented her from doing any strenuous lifting, and so Atem had been left to carry his heavy suitcases and boxes up the stairs. His tri-coloured hair even appeared to be feeling it; its usually bounce gone. It seemed as if his breath would never return.

"Oh, come now, Atem. It couldn't have been that bad," Aunt Lily said, handing her charge a bottle of water. She sported a cheeky smile on her wrinkling face.

"Oh, yes...it could...have," Atem replied between gulps of water.

"What did you pack, rocks?"

"Ha ha, very funny. No, books more like it. I never realized they could be so heavy."

"I only wish I could've helped, but my doctor will kill me if I'm not careful. I'm sorry, Atem."

"No need to be, Lily, I understand." Atem crunched his now empty water bottle and tossed it into the provided recycling bin.

"Well then, I'd best be off. Let you get settled and everything." Aunt Lily's eyes welled up as she gestured for a hug from her nephew.

"Lily, you don't need to get so emotional," Atem got up from his bed and accepted his Aunt's hug. "I'm just a phone call away."

"Oh, I know," she answered, ending their embrace by pushing Atem back a little, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "I'm just gonna miss you so much!" Her tears threatened to leak out.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Lily," Before her emotions could become infectious, Atem pulled his Aunt back for a final farewell hug and kiss on the cheek.

With one last wave and blown kiss, Lily left Atem alone in his new room. He got to work almost immediately, unpacking boxes and storing said now-empty boxes underneath his bed. The storage space would have to make up for the fact that his feet didn't touch the ground when he sat on it.

When he had finally unpacked all of his things, Atem lay down on his bed and let his mind wander. University would surely prove to be an adventure, that he was sure of. Different class layouts, new friends, questionable food; he had heard it from all of his teachers, his aunt, even the old game shop owner (he had stressed the questionable food). Right now, Atem didn't want to worry about any of that. He swam through his whirlpool of thoughts to arrive at the tranquil shore called sleep, even if it was only six o'clock.

However something had swum through the water after him. Atem tried to ignore it, but it kept popping out in front of him: the sound of someone crying. Figuring it was some parent sad that their kid was leaving, Atem grabbed his pillow and placed it over his ears. But it didn't help; the sound wasn't coming from an adjoining room. It seemed to reverberate inside his head.

"_Why...?_" This word interrupted the crying for a moment. "_Why does this always happen? Wherever I go..._"

The sobbing resumed and Atem now sat straight up, hands on the edge of his bed supporting him. _Why can I hear this, that's what I'd like to know._ His left hand rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"_I'd also like to know why I can hear you._" The crying had ceased and now a voice spoke inside Atem's head. _This is too weird, now I have ESP?_

"_You and me both._" The voice was less emotional now; Atem could tell it belonged to a boy. "_How much did you hear, anyway?_"

_Just the sobbing. And apparently something happens to you wherever you go?_ Atem felt he was going to hear about it, whether he wanted to or not.

"_Wherever I go, no matter what I do, someone thinks it's fun to beat up the short kid with funny hair_..." Atem might as well get to know the person who could read his mind...and whose mind he could read. He could _read _someone's _mind_. This would take time getting used to.

"_And they always have to cart me halfway to nowhere to do it! I don't even know where I am. I figured it'd be at least a week until someone thought I'd make a good punching bag. I would have had a chance to learn the layout of campus, but they never rest do they?_" He sighed. "_I don't suppose you could direct me to the North Northeast residence?_"

_You're asking me directions? Are you not even freaked out by the fact that we can read one another's minds? At all?_

"_No._" Not even a moment's hesitation. After a few seconds of silence, Atem spoke...or rather, thought.

_Well, I can't very well give you directions if I don't know where you are. And I don't know how much help I'll be, since I just got here myself. _Atem waited for an answer. And waited. He sat in total quiet for at least five minutes. A sharp knock on the door brought him back to reality.

"Atem?" a confident female voice questioned. "I'm Mai, your RA. We're having a floor wide meeting in the lounge in a few minutes to get to know each other."

"O-okay. I'll be there." Atem didn't like the waver in his voice. Barely audible, Mai said, "You'd better..." as she went to the next door. Atem put his head in his hands.

_Why did I have to get a female residence assistant? This does not bode well._

Atem's aversion to woman traced back to grade nine, when every girl suddenly found him the most interesting person in the world. They followed him around aimlessly, one having even walked into the washroom after him. It continued every day throughout all four years of his high school career. _For some reason they just won't leave me alone. I really don't understand why._ Atem sighed. _I really hope the girls here have other things to attend to, besides me._

Atem's thoughts returned to the boy who could read his mind. Why hadn't he answered him? He was beginning to wonder if he hadn't dreamt the whole thing up.

"What did Lily put in that water she gave me?"

Rubbing his face, Atem stood up and made his way to the fifth floor lounge. An assortment of boys and girls were sitting on the burgundy couches chatting, mostly about how uncomfortable the couches were. Atem decided to simply lean against the wall and try the couches out another time. And then it started.

First it was only one girl, and then it was two. Soon every pair of female eyes was glued to him, taking in his spiked yellow bangs and similarly styled red-tipped black hair. His arms folded across a black tank top, his leather-clad legs crossed at the ankles. His violet eyes staring at the floor, avoiding eye contact of any kind. _When the boys notice all of the girls looking at me, they tend to look too. Probably wondering what I've got that they don't._ Atem sighed.

Then he wished he hadn't. All of the girls gasped simultaneously. _Their eyes are probably doing that animé-sparkling thing_. Atem decided to sneak a peek at his admirers. But instead of meeting the gaze of infatuated females, he saw everyone's eyes turned towards the hallway he had come from. There stood a newcomer with long, white hair in blue jeans and a striped blue and white t-shirt. His brown eyes showed that he was all too familiar with this scene. The boy sat down on the couch that hugged the wall space next to Atem. The boy sighed. The girls stopped breathing. Then the boy smiled up at Atem and spoke:

"It appears I've relieved you of the female attention," his British accent filled the girls' lungs instead of oxygen.

Atem laughed. "Who should I make the cheque out to?"

"Ryou Bakura. May I ask whom I'm working for?"

"Atem. But if you're caught, you don't know me."

"I think the cat's already out of the bag, Atem," Bakura paused, then whispered, "That girl's writing everything down in her notebook."

Sure enough, when Atem looked over, a girl with straight, short-ish, brown hair was scribbling madly into a furry, yellow notebook. Her pen lit up when it met the paper.

"Looks like we're going to be on someone's blog tonight, Ryou."

"Please, all my friends call me Bakura," Bakura smiled. Atem nodded his understanding.

Suddenly, the room became swathed in the scent of a floral perfume. The new, overpowering smell came from the purple-clad woman who had just walked in. Her long, blonde hair curled at the ends, framing her face. Her perfectly mascaraed eyes surveyed the room, taking note (most likely) of all the breast ogling boys. _Fake_, was where Atem's mind jumped first. Eventually, the boys regained their composure and it was then that the woman spoke:

"Hello, everyone. I'm the RA for the fifth floor of the South Southwest residence, Mai Kujaku. If nobody's missing, I'm going to go over the rules."

Atem sighed internally. This was going to be a long meeting.

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**Is mascaraed even a word?**


	2. In Which Atem Wears Leather Pants

**What? I haven't forgotten about this? *laugh* I've had so much going on, and I apologize for not updating in...SEVEN MONTHS? Oops. I had the beginning of this chapter written back in May, but hadn't gotten around to finishing it. With any luck I'll have another chapter up before the new year! Now, without further ado I present to you chapter two.**

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Chapter Two – In Which Atem Wears Leather Pants

As Atem had predicted, the meeting dragged on until ten o'clock. Mai had them introduce themselves first, each saying what their favourite pastime was. When Atem's turn came, he wished his parents had named him Bob. The girl with the furry notebook had scribbled furiously after he said his name. Atem hypothesized that she was jotting down possible nicknames for him.

Bakura's turn revealed that he liked playing games, which gave Atem a reason to look forward to the semester ahead of him, as he had also said that he enjoys games. Next, it was furry-yellow notebook's turn, and Atem listened attentively so that he might search Google for the girl's blog. She called herself Anzu Mazaki, and reading manga was her pastime; Atem smelled a fangirl.

The rest of the meeting had involved an explanation of the rules (no throwing microwaves out the window, etc.), a silly game in which participants tried to name each other (Atem lost) and a warning from Mai that she didn't date first years. Atem stretched, yawning; the time to sleep had come. He made his way back to his room and put his key into the lock. As he was turning the key, someone came up beside him. It was Anzu Mazaki, clutching her furry, yellow notebook and light-up pen with both hands against her chest. _Please say she doesn't want my autograph, it's only the first day!_

"Um, sorry to bother you," she began, "I'm Anzu Mazaki." She bowed a little. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Atem," he returned her bow, "but I'm sure you already knew that." Atem smiled and Anzu blushed.

"I-I just w-wanted to...to introduce myself before you went to bed," Anzu regained her composure and smiled cheerfully. "Good night!" With a little wave, she went off to her room. _She might not be that bad after all._ But even with that thought, Atem still searched for her blog before going to bed.

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A rap on the wall adjacent to his bed woke Atem from his slumber. His bleary eyes looked at the wall. He hadn't hit it, there was a wooden plank attached to his bed that prevented him from doing just that. Another rap on the wall, and Atem could tell that it was coming from the other side. A voice spoke through the drywall.

"Hey! Turn your alarm off, man! You'll wake the entire floor up!"

_Alarm? _Atem lifted his head off his pillow and listened. He heard a faint beeping noise. The more he listened, the louder it got. Then he realized it was his alarm clock telling him that he had overslept half an hour. Atem grunted and slapped the snooze button on his clock. The beeping ceased.

"Thank you!" Atem's neighbour exclaimed.

Atem sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at his clock: 8:30am. _Why does the first day of classes have to be the day after we move in anyway?_ Domino University had started a controversial schedule for the first two weeks of the fall semester. The students moved in on the Saturday or Sunday and classes started on the Monday. However, there would be no class on Tuesday or Thursday that week. And the next week would only see classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Classes would be held Monday through Friday the third week on. On days with no classes, some orientation events would be held by the various student councils around campus.

Atem checked his schedule, making sure his chemistry lecture was indeed at 9:30 and hadn't changed times during the night. He got dressed then made his way to one of the floor's six bathrooms, toothbrush, soap and keys in tow. The bathroom had two toilets, two showers and two sinks; enough for six people to comfortably (if not awkwardly) go about their morning routine, granted they all did not wish to shower at the same time. Atem preferred to shower at night, thus avoiding the morning rush.

Atem went about his morning routine as he would at home, except here he had the sound of the shower as background noise. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, typical stuff. However, Atem had forgotten his towel, so his shirt would have to suffice. This was fine, since he had planned to wear a different shirt to class anyway. He pulled the collar over his nose, just to the top of his forehead and patted.

Someone pulled back the curtain that cordoned off the showers from the rest of the bathroom. Out of pure (but perhaps impure) curiosity, Atem peeked over his shirt collar into the mirror. Reflected in it, a girl; towel wrapped around her hair, bath robe encompassing her figure, shower stuffs piled in a small basket clutched to her chest. The girl noticed Atem and... _...!_

"...!"

_It was Anzu Mazaki._

Atem dropped his shirt collar and, still looking in the mirror, said:

"Good morning."

Anzu, face flushed, pulled the top of her robe closer together with her free hand and returned a quick 'Morning' before getting the hell out of that washroom. Atem stared at the mirror, where Anzu Mazaki had just been standing. He couldn't believe it. Of all the people to meet in the bathroom, it had to be her. He would be the highlight of her blog for weeks to come, he just knew it. Her red face was engrained in his brain forever.

When Atem finally unglued his gaze from that spot on the mirror, he came across a different blushing visage: his own._ What's with me? She's left already! _Atem glared at the pink hue in his cheeks until it went away enough that only he could notice it. He picked up his things and went promptly back to his room.

As the door latched, Atem's blush came right back with full force. He leaned against his door and covered the bottom half of his face with his right hand, his fingers heating up against the warm _skin_. _What...what was that? Okay, so I saw her in a bath robe, so what? _Atem's eyes widened with realization. _Nothing but a bath robe. _But it wasn't his fault, right? She should've known that there would be boys in the bathroom. Yeah, he wasn't at fault. _But the next time I see her..._ Atem shook his head violently, getting rid of his redness, fixed his hair, put on a different shirt and his leather pants, grabbed his book bag and headed off to class.

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The largest lecture hall on campus, the Kaiba Corporation Building (lovingly shortened to K-CoB by the students), was relatively close to the South Southwest residence, so Atem found himself fifteen minutes early for his first class. As he waited outside the doors of the Mokuba Auditorium, his stomach grumbled and Atem realized he had forgotten to eat anything for breakfast. _I usually never leave without eating at least something. Has this Anzu girl really gotten to me this much? _Atem decided to contribute his forgetfulness to his new environment, and not some girl he had met only yesterday.

The doors opened up and students from the previous lecture poured out. Most of them looked quite tired and paid Atem no notice but a few of the girls' eyes became locked on him. _Why does this happen all the time? I'm just leaning against this wall, waiting to go to class! Nothing special. So why can't the girls take their eyes off of me?_

"_It's the leather pants."_

Not expecting an answer, Atem jumped a little bit and his eyes widened. He scanned the crowd for the guy who had literally read his mind and then replied aloud. However, he was the only one looking and none of the girls had reacted to the statement. Atem then remembered the dream-like mind-reading incident yesterday. The other person surely had to be somewhere close, otherwise they couldn't possibly have known what he was talking about. He was also starting to suspect the whole reading minds thing only worked over short distances, given the recent lack of communication. But no one came up to him, nor did anyone strike him as the person who had been reading his mind. Atem was just going to have to live with not knowing for now.

As he made his way into the auditorium, he thought about what his mind reader said (thought). _The leather pants? Really? Is that how simple the answer is? _Atem took a seat near the front, around the more studious types, wanting to give off a I-study-don't-bother-me vibe to the girls who would be attending this lecture. It almost worked. He hadn't remembered that girls enjoy 'studying'; the art of acting like you want to learn the material, when all you really want to learn is what type of material someone is wearing. A bunch of 'studious' girls sat in the row behind him.

The seat on Atem's right was soon occupied by a male student sporting sunglasses and a bandana. He was mumbling to himself about the 'dumb schedule' and how he shouldn't have to be in class right now. Atem would have agreed with him and struck up a conversation except the man's teeth were bared and he didn't seem to want any conversation.

A girl sat in the seat to Atem's left, much to his dismay. Her two front-most locks of black hair were secured with gold rings and she bore a peculiar necklace. The design seemed familiar but Atem couldn't pinpoint its origin. She noticed his interest, but mistook where his eyes were lingering.

"Hey," she said, rather forcefully, "just because you have a gaggle of giggling girls sitting behind you doesn't mean every female student here wants to jump your bones."

Atem looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry, I was only looking at your necklace. Honestly." She raised an eyebrow. "The design looks familiar to me, but I can't figure out where from." Her eyebrow fell, accepting his story.

"My necklace comes from Egypt. I've never seen its likeness anywhere, so I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Ah, I see. That's okay. I'm sure it will come to me eventually. I'm Atem, by the way. Sorry for making you think I enjoy all of this." Atem gestured to the girls behind him.

"Ishizu. And you'd best be watching where your eyes linger next time. Some girls will just slap you without giving it a second thought. Although I'm sure you haven't met any yet."

"Actually, I have. I'm surprised they haven't left a noticeable mark." Atem rubbed his cheek as if it stung. This got him a small laugh out of Ishizu and they spent the few minutes until class started talking about university. What programs of study they were following (Physics for her, Chemistry for him), the first night in residence (people were partying in the West residence) and what their schedules looked like. Atem and Ishizu had just discovered they had the same calculus lecture when the professor called attention to the front of the room.

"Welcome, everyone, to your very first chemistry lecture of university!"


End file.
